Issue: 2018 December

Pen of Inspiration – Christmas

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Christmas—a Time to Honor God—By the world the holidays are spent in frivolity and extravagance, gluttony and display. … Thousands of dollars will be worse than thrown away upon the coming Christmas and New Year’s in needless indulgences. But it is our privilege to depart from the customs and practices of this degenerate age; and instead of expending means merely for the gratification of the appetite or for needless ornaments or articles of clothing, we may make the coming holidays an occasion in which to honor and glorify God.

Christ should be the supreme object; but as Christmas has been observed, the glory is turned from Him to mortal man, whose sinful, defective character made it necessary for Him to come to our world.

Jesus, the Majesty of heaven, the royal King of heaven, laid aside His royalty, left His throne of glory, His high command, and came into our world to bring to fallen man, weakened in moral power and corrupted by sin, aid divine. …

Parents should keep these things before their children and instruct them, line upon line, precept upon precept, in their obligation to God—not their obligation to each other, to honor and glorify one another by gifts and offerings.

Turn Thoughts of the Children Into a New Channel—There are many things which can be devised with taste and cost far less than the unnecessary presents that are so frequently bestowed upon our children and relatives, and thus courtesy can be shown and happiness brought into the home.

You can teach your children a lesson while you explain to them the reason why you have made a change in the value of their presents, telling them that you are convinced that you have hitherto considered their pleasure more than the glory of God. Tell them that you have thought more of your own pleasure and of their gratification and of keeping in harmony with the customs and traditions of the world, in making presents to those who did not need them, than you have of advancing the cause of God. Like the wise men of old, you may offer to God your best gifts and show by your offerings to Him that you appreciate His Gift to a sinful world. Set your children’s thoughts running in a new, unselfish channel by inciting them to present offerings to God for the gift of His only-begotten Son.

“Shall We Have a Christmas Tree?”—God would be well pleased if on Christmas each church would have a Christmas tree on which shall be hung offerings, great and small, for these houses of worship. [Note: Reference is made in this article to current building projects. As the principles set forth in this connection are applicable today, these specific references are left in the article.] Letters of inquiry have come to us asking, Shall we have a Christmas tree? Will it not be like the world? We answer, You can make it like the world if you have a disposition to do so, or you can make it as unlike the world as possible. There is no particular sin in selecting a fragrant evergreen and placing it in our churches, but the sin lies in the motive which prompts to action and the use which is made of the gifts placed upon the tree.

The tree may be as tall and its branches as wide as shall best suit the occasion; but let its boughs be laden with the golden and silver fruit of your beneficence, and present this to Him as your Christmas gift. Let your donations be sanctified by prayer.

Christmas and New Year celebrations can and should be held in behalf of those who are helpless. God is glorified when we give to help those who have large families to support.

A Tree Laden With Offerings Is Not Sinful—Let not the parents take the position that an evergreen placed in the church for the amusement of the Sabbath school scholars is a sin, for it may be made a great blessing. Keep before their minds benevolent objects. In no case should mere amusement be the object of these gatherings. While there may be some who will turn these occasions into seasons of careless levity, and whose minds will not receive the divine impress, to other minds and characters these seasons will be highly beneficial. I am fully satisfied that innocent substitutes can be devised for many gatherings that demoralize.

Provide Innocent Enjoyment for the Day—Will you not arise, my Christian brethren and sisters, and gird yourselves for duty in the fear of God, so arranging this matter that it shall not be dry and uninteresting, but full of innocent enjoyment that shall bear the signet of Heaven? I know the poorer class will respond to these suggestions. The most wealthy should also show an interest and bestow their gifts and offerings proportionate to the means with which God has entrusted them. Let there be recorded in the heavenly books such a Christmas as has never yet been seen because of the donations which shall be given for the sustaining of the work of God and the upbuilding of His kingdom.

The Adventist Home, 480–483.

The Problem in Galatia – Works of the Flesh

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It was on Paul’s second missionary journey that he and Silas visited the churches in Galatia. Only slight mention is made of it in the book of Acts: “Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia” (Acts 16:6). Note that this is only a passing reference, with no details of the work they did there.

The next mention of Galatia in Acts is in 18:23: “After he [Paul] had spent some time there [in Antioch], he departed and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.” Again, we have only passing reference to Galatia.

Interestingly, these are the only two mentions in the book of Acts of the work Paul did in Galatia. Nevertheless, the work that he did there was significant enough that it merited the preservation by divine providence of a letter of rebuke he wrote “to the churches of Galatia” (Galatians 1:2).

Why termed “a letter of rebuke”? After Paul’s customary greeting, which is almost identical in all of his epistles, the very first thing he wrote is, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel …” (Galatians 1:6).

Paul devotes most of the first and second chapters of Galatians to a justification of his whole body of work and to an account of his efforts to correct errors of the early church as it made the transition from the sacrificial services of the Jewish economy to the Christ-based fellowship of the Christian church. (Of course, the Jewish economy had also been Christ-based, although the Pharisees and the Sadducees had made the sacrificial service an end unto itself, failing to understand that these services pointed to the ultimate Sacrifice.)

Then he closes the second chapter with an exquisite exposition of justification by faith, exclaiming, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Paul begins the third chapter with a second rebuke: “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified” (Galatians 3:1)?

From what follows in his letter, it is clear that the Galatians had either maintained or returned to their erroneous beliefs of justification by works: “This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh” (Galatians 3:2, 3)?

As Paul continues to explain how justification is by faith and faith alone, he reminds the Galatians of how Abraham was justified, then segues into a brief explanation of righteousness by faith, explaining, “… that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH’ ” (Galatians 3:11). [Emphasis supplied.]

As he continues his explanation of justification by faith, he provides a between-the-lines allusion to the difference between the moral law and the sacrificial law, stating, “Why, then, was the Law added? Because of transgressions, until the descendant came to whom the promise pertained. It was put into effect through angels by means of a mediator” (Galatians 3:19, ISV).

That mediator, of course, was Moses, who, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, wrote the details of the sacrificial law and placed it beside the ark: “So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying: ‘Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there as a witness against you’ ” (Deuteronomy 31:24–26).

The remainder of chapter three and the beginning of chapter four give a clear explanation of those who constitute modern Israel, following the rejection of Christ by ancient Israel—the Jewish nation: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:27–29).

Following his explanation of the very basics of justification and sanctification being by faith and faith alone, and an explanation of who the recipients of the promise given to Abraham are, Paul returns to his concerns for the Galatians, asking, “… how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain” (Galatians 4:9–11).

By relating the story of Hagar and Sarah, Paul expands on the difference between justification by works and justification by faith, noting that “we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. …  So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free” (Galatians 4:28, 31).

In essence, Paul is again asserting that justification is by faith (Sarah) and not by works (Hagar).

In chapter five, Paul begins by exhorting the Galatians, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).

Seeking to ensure that the Galatians understand his concerns for them, Paul once again points out the error that they have fallen into, writing, “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth” (Galatians 5:4–7)?

After having established the critical importance of faith as the sole basis for justification and righteousness/sanctification, Paul endeavors to confirm that the Galatians have a clear understanding of the difference between the works of the flesh (recall that the Galatians were attempting to achieve justification by those works under the dictates of the sacrificial law) and the fruits of the Spirit in verses 19 through 23. (Obviously the Galatians were not attempting to gain justification through the sinful works of the flesh Paul outlines here, but they were, nevertheless, seeking to achieve justification through works.)

Paul closes his epistle by returning to his major theme of the futility of seeking justification through works of the flesh by following the sacrificial law: “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation” (Galatians 6:14, 15).

Paul’s letter to the Galatians is a perfect example of the treasures hidden in God’s word that can only be found by a thorough mining of that Word. So many different aspects of the plan of salvation are touched on, that many hours could be devoted to a study of this epistle alone. While clearly intended to be an admonition to the Galatians who were “turning away” from the righteousness that faith in Christ establishes, this letter can have a far greater impact for those who seek to understand the gospel that “came through the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:12).

“Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen” (Galatians 6:18).

 

John R. Pearson is the office manager and a board member of Steps to Life. He may be contacted by email at: johnpearson@stepstolife.org.

Your Own Way

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In Galatians 2:20 Paul says, speaking of Jesus, “He loved me, and gave Himself for me.”

In the words of the gospel prophet Isaiah, we see the sufferings of the Messiah described hundreds of years before He was born. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5, 6).

The expression, “we have turned every one to his own way” in modern phraseology is, everybody doing his own thing. Now the prophet here points out that this is what made necessary the death of Jesus. There is something very alluring, very intriguing, very enticing about having our own way, but often poor choices are made impulsively.

Now the prophet suggests that there is more than one way to have one’s own way. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way.” A hundred people may have a hundred ways to have their own way due to personal likes and dislikes. Isaiah says this problem is at the root of sin. But while there is an individuality in these various patterns of having our own way they fall more or less into three great categories.

Open Rebellion—my own way. I, a creature, shake my puny fist at the God of heaven and say, I want my way and I’m going to have it. This was the way of Nimrod at the tower of Babel. This was the way of Pharaoh as he withstood Moses and Aaron at the time of the Exodus. He perished in the Red Sea. This was the way of Belshazzar as he assembled his lords and drank that fermented wine of Babylon and praised the gods of silver and gold and defied the God of heaven by calling for the sacred vessels from the temple at Jerusalem to be brought in for the services of these heathen gods. All these and millions of others in turning each one to his own way have openly defied the God of heaven.

Pretended Loyalty—while having one’s own way. This does not defy God openly; it seeks to evade His requirements all the while pretending to be loyal. This was the way of King Saul, the first monarch of Israel. The experience of the young king is recorded in 1 Samuel 15. He was anointed with holy oil and crowned king and told to exterminate the Amalekites, a cruel, presumptuous heathen people that had been defying God for hundreds of years. They had filled up their cup of iniquity.

Through the spirit of prophecy God gave him direct instructions in what and how it should be done. Idol worship and all who shared in it were to be destroyed and no spoils were to be kept. It was to be clear that they were acting as God’s sheriffs, but when the job was done they thought, Why lose all the flocks and herds and all the booty? In their greed they began to reason, Wouldn’t it be fine to sacrifice this to the Lord at the tabernacle at Gilgal? Secretly they thought that instead of their own cattle, they could use these to sacrifice. King Saul also had second thoughts about sparing Agag. He thought his triumph would be heightened if Agag, the king, was brought home in chains. Samuel, the prophet of God, met them enquiring, Why haven’t you obeyed what God said? Saul’s feeble excuse was that the people have spared those to sacrifice to the Lord thy God in Gilgal (1 Samuel 15:19–21).

Notice Samuel’s response: “Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord” (1 Samuel 15:22, first part)? Loyalty is shown not by pretense, not by profession, not even by sacrifices, but by obedience. Jesus echoed it a thousand years later when He said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king” (1 Samuel 15:22, last part, 23). The Spirit pierced through Saul’s disguises, his camouflages, his excuses, his rationalizations.

People quite often have two reasons for what they do – the reason they give and the real reason. King Saul had two reasons – the reason he gave which was an excuse and the real reason. God calls it rebellion. This all happened while Saul was claiming to be a loyal supporter of the Lord, a loyal subject of God’s kingdom, a loyal commander in God’s army. Saul had his own way while pretending it was God’s way.

In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He strips away the disguise and exposes the camouflage of those who claim to speak in His name but do not keep the commandments of His Father. He said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity [lawlessness]” (Matthew 7:21–23). These people are not like Pharaoh in open rebellion; they’re not like Belshazzar blaspheming the name of God; they take the name of Jesus upon their lips; they repeat His praises; all they do they do in His name and yet Jesus says they’re in rebellion. They are not obedient.

This method of doing one’s own way is far more subtle than the first. There is more hope for the open sinner in bold rebellion to find that he needs to be changed and converted than the one who deceives himself. We thank God for the arrow from the Lord’s quiver that wounds such a heart, but oh, what a deceptive trap it is to be taken in when one practices the forms of religion and sings the praises of God, while in his inner life he is following his own way.

You see, that was the problem with Judas. Christ gave Judas an opportunity to be converted. Judas went through all the forms: he joined in prayer; he was even ordained a minister by Jesus Himself; He was sent out along with the rest of the twelve to work miracles to heal and preach in Jesus’ name but deep in his heart Judas never came to the point of full surrender.

A classic example of this matter of doing something with a different motive is found in John 12. The story begins with Mary anointing the feet of Jesus at the feast in Simon’s house. When Mary’s box of alabaster was broken and the perfume filled the room, Judas’ selfish, covetous soul rose up in protest. He thought the money Mary had spent on the costly ointment could have been sold and put into the treasury. He was the treasurer and actually thought what he could do with it.

Judas said, “Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein” (verses 5, 6). Right there in the presence of Christ he dared to condemn that act of love on Mary’s part and give his objection a worthy look while hiding his covetous motive. Judas wanted to be seen as a keen, shrewd, careful, loyal supporter of Jesus and His program and looking after the interests of the kingdom. Interesting though, the disciples all sided with Judas and not with Mary. Only the Savior saw through his disguise. Only the Savior could read his heart.

How dangerous it is to cling to sin while covering it up with a holy pretense. Jesus referred to the scribes and Pharisees as “whited sepulchers” (Matthew 23:27). Inside full of dead men’s bones, but covered over with whitewash on the outside.

Deception—the right thing for the wrong reason. An example of this is found in the experience of James and John. “John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in Thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us” (Luke 9:49, 50). Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem and passing through a Samaritan village James and John ask the Samaritans if they could stay there that night, but because they saw that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, they would not receive Him. “James and John saw this, and they said to Jesus, Lord, wilt Thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elijah did? But He turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” (verses 54, 55).

Now James and John were not crooks like Judas. They thought they were being loyal to the Master and were not by any means trying in an underhanded way to undermine His influence. However, their selfish human nature had seized upon the opportunity of getting close to Christ and upholding Him as a way to exalt themselves and get their way. This could also be a temptation for you and me. When they saw somebody else doing some work in Jesus’ name, full of zeal, they said, Oh you mustn’t do this; you’re not with our company. You’re not taking your orders from us so you better quit.

Now the book The Desire of Ages in commenting upon this gives us this interesting ray of light, that James and John had thought they were ambitious for their Master’s honor but as Christ instructed them they began to see that they had been ambitious for their own honor. (See The Desire of Ages, 437, 438.) What was it they wanted? Their own way. Now their own way happened to be right in exalting Jesus but the way they went at it was in a way to exalt themselves. Again with the Samaritans they went ahead and Jesus had told them to try to find lodging there and something to eat but the Samaritans wouldn’t receive them so they came back and reported and said, Now Lord, shall we call fire down from heaven and burn them up like Elijah did? And Jesus looked upon them sadly as He said, You do not know what spirit you are of. You think you are trying to help Me and you mean all right, but really the trouble is, you want your own way. You want to either rule or ruin. You want people to jump when you crack the whip and if they won’t do it you’re prepared to use the whip. This is at the foundation of all the persecution in the name of religion down through the ages. Millions of inquisitors and persecutors have put to death tens of millions of conscientious souls in the name of Jesus Christ. Why? They believed they were working for God. Even when the thing we stand for is the right position we still may be very selfish in the way we stand for it.

We live in an interesting age when it has become popular on many fronts to cry out against the establishment, to point out the mistakes in government, in schools, in homes, in the church, and God knows there are plenty of mistakes. But, whether I ride in the streets, burn down the administration building or choose more subtle ways to show my disregard of authority; whether I smoke marijuana, and point out that it’s no worse than my elders getting drunk with whiskey; whether I select a righteous cause and stand for it in the spirit of rebellion, the end result is the same. I am turning to my own way.

When a young person today selects a righteous cause and does it in defiance of his parents, his teachers, and points out their sins and mistakes, only God knows the motive of his heart, but I challenge each young person – be sure when you take a stand in advance of your elders, and God knows many of you need to take stands in advance of your elders, be sure you’re doing the right thing for the right reason instead of the right thing for the wrong reason. It makes all the difference in the world. One road leads to heaven and the other leads to hell. All those who are lost will not be people who got drunk or got high on drugs. Selfishness is something far more permeating in its influence. There are ten thousand forms that selfishness can take. The prophet says truly when he says, “All we like sheep have gone astray” (Isaiah 53:6). All of us. Every one of us. Some have taken the road of open defiant rebellion, open and above board. Some of us have taken the road of pretending to be loyal to God and yet in our hearts are thieves, crooks, lustful deceivers, covering it over with whitewash. Some of us have taken the road of seizing the truth and using it as a platform on which to mount for ourselves an exalted throne from which to issue edicts and expect them to be carried out because we are standing for Jesus.

Now thank God there’s a fourth way to have your own way. We’ll find it in Matthew the 16th chapter. There’s something better than these three ways in which like sheep men go astray. Here’s another way. “Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (verse 24). This is not the way of open rebellion; it is not the way of evading and rationalizing; it is not the way of choosing truth and doing the right thing for the wrong reason. This is another way entirely. It’s the way of the cross, the way Jesus took, for Jesus did not come to earth to give up bad things so He could be saved. He gave up all the good things so you and I could be saved. And He invites us to join with Him in that way – the way of self-crucifixion.

Paul says, “I am crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). He had seen Christ on the Damascus road as the crucified Savior now risen and ascended pleading with Him, Saul the persecutor, to turn from self-pleasing in the name of religion, and he said, I will show you what great things you must suffer for My name’s sake. Thank God, Paul turned his back on all the self-pleasing in the name of religion and took up the cross of Christ and carried it to his death; didn’t he? And he said, “God forbid that I should glory save in that cross” (Galatians 6:14). Now you say, I thought you said that this was a way to have your own way. It is. It’s the only way that works. That’s the paradox.

I saw some ducks on a lake the other day and as we were watching them eat their dinner while we ate our dinner, we observed how much better they functioned there in the water than we would if we’d been going after our dinner where they were. Do you know why they were doing such a good job of it? They were made for that. They were equipped for that task from head to tail. I want to tell you something, friends, you and I were not made to have our own way. And whenever we try it, sooner or later we’re disappointed. We were made for God’s way. We were made to please Him. He says, “This people have I formed for Myself; they shall show forth My praise” (Isaiah 43:21). And when you and I turn from self-pleasing and see Jesus on the cross and say, Lord, if You love me that much to die for me, I love You enough to live for You. When we do that then we begin to understand and experience a joy which is not the joy of self-pleasing; it’s the joy of pleasing Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. And since that is what we were made for, it works.

As one of old said, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, Oh God, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.” Augustine of Hippo. Nothing but Jesus, having full possession of our heart can truly satisfy the soul. We’ll never find satisfaction, friends, in defiance of God in open rebellion. We’ll find only disappointment and disillusionment in trying to pretend loyalty to Him and yet really having our own selfish way. And oh, the sad, sad disillusionment of those who take a righteous cause and march under its banner all the while trying to find their own way in the religion of Christ. No friends. Let’s make one big pile of all our selfish ways and thoughts and plans and turn from it and come to Jesus on the cross and kneel down and give Him everything we have. There’s no other way. “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).

When we do that more and more while we crucify the flesh, while we deny the selfish cravings, we become acquainted with a life which finds its satisfaction in pleasing God and in helping Him make others happy. Jesus said, “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them” (John 13:17). Oh yes, to turn from self-pleasing means to enter the role that eventually will bring us eternal joy here and hereafter. So the Psalmist says, “Delight thyself … in the Lord: and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4). So you want your heart’s desire? You’ll not get it by going after it. You’ll not find it by chasing it. There’s only one way that you can find the real fulfillment, the answer to your quest. It’s by renouncing self and letting Jesus have full control of your life.

If the disguise of sin and selfishness has been torn away from any of the devil’s plans in your mind or heart pray not merely to be illumined but to come to a decision so we can say with Paul on the Damascus road, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do” (Acts 9:6)?

 

Elder W.D. Frazee studied the Medical Missionary Course at the College of Medical Evangelists in Loma Linda, California. He was called to Utah as a gospel medical evangelist. During the Great Depression, when the church could not afford to hire any assistants, Elder Frazee began inviting professionals to join him as volunteers. This began a faith ministry that would become the foundation for the establishment of the Wildwood Medical Missionary Institute in 1942. He believed that each person is unique, specially designed by the Lord, of infinite value, and has a special place and mission in this world which only he can fill. His life followed this principle and he encouraged others to do the same.

Our Warning Message

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History shows that when a person, family, church, or nation casts aside the law of God, there are real consequences. This process started in heaven before the creation of the world when Lucifer rebelled against the government of heaven, consequently he was cast out.

“Satan stood in amazement at his new condition. His happiness was gone. He looked upon the angels who, with him, were once so happy, but who had been expelled from heaven with him. Before their fall not a shade of discontent had marred their perfect bliss. Now all seemed changed. Countenances which had reflected the image of their Maker were gloomy and despairing. Strife, discord, and bitter recrimination were among them. Previous to their rebellion these things had been unknown in heaven. Satan now beheld the terrible results of his rebellion. He shuddered, and feared to face the future and to contemplate the end of these things.

“The hour for joyful, happy songs of praise to God and His dear Son had come. Satan had led the heavenly choir. He had raised the first note; then all the angelic host had united with him, and glorious strains of music had resounded through heaven in honor of God and His dear Son. But now, instead of strains of sweetest music, discord and angry words fall upon the ear of the great rebel leader. Where is he? Is it not all a horrible dream? Is he shut out of heaven? Are the gates of heaven never more to open to admit him? The hour of worship draws nigh, when bright and holy angels bow before the Father. No more will he unite in heavenly song. No more will he bow in reverence and holy awe before the presence of the eternal God.

“Could he be again as he was when he was pure, true, and loyal, gladly would he yield up the claims of his authority. But he was lost! beyond redemption, for his presumptuous rebellion! And this was not all; he had led others to rebellion and to the same lost condition with himself—angels, who had never thought to question the will of Heaven or refuse obedience to the law of God till he had put it into their minds, presenting before them that they might enjoy a greater good, a higher and more glorious liberty. This had been the sophistry whereby he had deceived them. A responsibility now rests upon him from which he would fain be released.

“These spirits had become turbulent with disappointed hopes. Instead of greater good, they were experiencing the sad results of disobedience and disregard of law. Never more would these unhappy beings be swayed by the mild rule of Jesus Christ. Never more would their spirits be stirred by the deep, earnest love, peace, and joy which His presence had ever inspired in them, to be returned to Him in cheerful obedience and reverential honor.” The Story of Redemption, 24–26.

Peace, joy, contentment and happiness were now only a memory of the past. Everything worthwhile was lost. It was so bad that Satan himself would gladly have gone back. Ellen White saw that he entreated the Lord for readmission, but he was irretrievably ruined. The seeds of rebellion were still in him and he could not be accepted back into heaven. He then carried on his rebellion against the law of God and caused the fall of our first parents.

People today are still deceived by the same Satanic sophistry, believing that by casting off the law of God and any restriction, they will find some kind of joy and happiness. The Bible describes this as “temporary pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25), but in the process, they actually lose their happiness, they lose their joy, and they lose their peace.

Since the fall of Adam and Eve, the enemy of God and man has taught this world to trample under foot God’s moral standard so that we are living in a time of lawlessness. Talking about the last days, Jesus said, “Because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12).

“The signs of the times are plain and startling. Look into the papers that flood our world, filled with recitals of daily crimes, committed not only in the lower walks of life, but also among the higher classes. Those who occupy positions of trust, who are placed as guardians of the peoples’ interest, are untrue to their responsibility. There is embezzlement and fraud. Public money is stolen, and not one tithe of these corrupt transactions comes to the light of day, and we do not see to what extent the wickedness of the world exists.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

The condition of this world has not improved. We have very little idea about how wicked the world is. “The youth of our time are receiving their education from the evil doings of these wicked, but honored men of the world. Theft, murder, adultery, corruption, every sin that has a name, prevails to an awful extent.” Ibid. When God called His people out of Egypt, the children of Israel were the depository for the law of God, which was given to them to guard, keep and teach it, and be a witness in the world.

Deuteronomy 4 tells of the privileges the Jews had because of the law of God. Deuteronomy 6:6–9 says: “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

It is during childhood that a person’s mind is the most plastic and most receptive to new ideas, good or bad. God’s laws were to be handed down to each generation. Had the children of Israel actually done this, the whole history of the world would have been different. However, the history of the children of Israel shows how they fell into idolatry over and over again. Had they been taught the law, they would never have been in violation of the second commandment. Children did not learn from their parents the principles of God’s law.

“Had fathers and mothers followed the direction given by Christ, we should not now read and hear of sins and crimes committed not only by adults, but even by youth and children. The evil condition of society exists because parents have disregarded this instruction, and neglected to train and educate their children to respect and honor the holy commandments of God. Even religious teachers have failed to present the holy standard by which character is measured.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

The devil has continually tried to attack any religious teacher or preacher who teaches the law of God. One favorite method of attack is to accuse people of being legalists, but is it not our duty to obey God?

People are attacked with smears or slogans in an attempt to keep them from teaching the principles of God, yet this is something that should be prominent in every Christian church. Think it through. If there is no law then there is no sin, because sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4 KJV). If there is no sin, then there is no need for the gospel. If there is no need for the gospel, there is nothing for a preacher to preach and your whole religion is an empty shell. If there is no sin or wickedness then how do we know what is right or wrong behavior? Thieves and murderers would not be held accountable because all would be doing what seemed right in their own eyes. Each government has laws and without them there would be total anarchy. The same is true within God’s government.

There are consequences to all actions. The devil says you can sin, but you don’t have to pay for it; just confess it and it will be forgiven and erased. But forgiveness does not erase. Study the life of David. When he committed that sin with Bathsheba, he repented and was forgiven, but his sin was not erased. The prophet said that the sword would dwell in his family from then on, before mentioning a whole series of terrible things that would follow.

In response to Nathaniel’s question, David said that whoever committed that crime should repay fourfold, not knowing that it was he who would repay. David lost four of his sons as a result of his crime. Each loss hurt him more than if he had died himself. Surely he was forgiven, but he had to pay the consequences.

There are both eternal as well as temporal consequences to be paid for a person’s choices. Sometimes the price is damage to a person’s health, either physical or mental. The wise man said, “Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God” (Ecclesiastes 8:12, 13).

There are limits to the forbearance of God. He has drawn a line. The nation or individual who passes the limit will experience judgments.

“O that every living teacher would teach both in word and doctrine that there are limits to God’s longsuffering. Many have gone beyond the limits of His forbearance. The world should be aroused to a wholesome fear of the Lord God of hosts. The time and age in which we live is one of marked depravity; for many disregard the precepts of the law of God. The commandment of God is treated with indifference, and even with open contempt, and the inhabitants of the world are fast approaching the limits of the forbearance of the grace of God. Erelong God will arise and vindicate His honor.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

A familiar example is in Genesis: “Then He said to Abram, ‘Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete [full]’ ” (Genesis 15:13–16).

The Amorites had not yet crossed the line the Lord had set. But things changed in the fourth generation. “Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:40, 41).

What God spoke to Abraham came to pass on the exact same day predicted. When the children of Israel came out of Egypt they dispossessed the Amorites. The Amorites had had a long period of probation, but the time came when their transgression was so large that the Lord said, Enough! They had crossed the line and were guilty of those things recorded in Leviticus 18, a chapter that is rarely read in church because it is too awful.

The scary thing is that the types of things listed in Leviticus 18 are being done today and God has not changed.

“The time will come when all the transgressors of His law will know that God will by no means clear the guilty (Exodus 34:7).” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

It says in Exodus 34:6, 7, “The Lord passed before him [Moses] and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.’ ”

God is merciful. In God’s government there is a mingling of mercy and justice. The devil challenged that principle and asserted that God could be just or He could be merciful, but He couldn’t be both just and merciful. However, that charge was completely answered when Jesus died on the cross of Calvary. The rest of the universe has no question about that anymore. They know that God is both just and merciful. A just penalty was paid for the sins of the world and God is merciful at the same time.

We see the limits to God’s forbearance in the example of the Jews. Jesus told them, “The one that comes to Me I will in no case cast out” (John 6:37, literal translation). If I come to Him, as bad as I am, He has promised not to cast me out, but to save and cleanse me.  Paul said He died on the cross to save even the worst, the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).

But the Jewish nation rejected the great light and truth that was given to them. As a nation they refused to listen. They rejected the counsel of God against themselves and set themselves stubbornly against the messages and warnings that God sent them.

The time came when they had exhausted the patience of God. When people are going in the wrong way, first God sends them a message of reproof. When the people in Nineveh listened to Jonah’s message and turned around, the Lord did not send the judgments to destroy them.

The same God, with the same accuracy, keeps a record of what is happening in the world today. Nations, churches, and individuals are still being offered the wedding garment that is woven in the loom of heaven, to be prepared for the coming of Christ. The Bible says that God does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men (Lamentations 3:33).

The Lord says, “What more could have been done to My vineyard that I have not done in it” (Isaiah 5:4)? It is impossible to say that God could have done more, because when Jesus Christ came, that gave all of heaven in one gift.

There is a land that has had unrivaled mercies and blessings from God, a land that has been the greatest land of liberty that has ever existed. It has been the glory of the whole earth. It has been blessed by God more than any other country on the face of the globe. But sadly, instead of returning gratitude for His multitude of blessings by honoring God and His law, the inhabitants of the land are turning their backs on God’s law, and professed Christians of America have become leavened with pride, covetousness, and self-sufficiency.

Ellen White described the situation in America a hundred and twenty-five years ago when she said, “The love of money, which is the root of all evil, has had a large place in their [the professed Christians of America] hearts. Many whose names are upon the church records have oppressed the poor, and grasped every possible advantage over those who were under them. They have lived to gratify appetite, to make extravagant display; and pride is fast making a Sodom of our world. But God is keeping His reckoning. The treatment of the poor, the robbery of the widow and the fatherless by those who are lifted up against the weak and helpless, is all written in the book of heaven. The cries of those who are oppressed have reached the ears of Him who judgeth righteously.” The Review and Herald, May 2, 1893.

As judgment has fallen in the streets and equity cannot enter, and the one who departs from evil makes himself a victim, when this nation restricts religious liberty and sacrifices and surrenders the principles of Protestantism, and accepts again, the doctrines and the principles of the papacy, Ellen White says, Then “the measure of their guilt will be full, and ‘national apostasy’ will be registered in the books of heaven.” Ibid.

The result of this apostasy will be national ruin. It will also be a time of persecution for God’s children. Then we are instructed to pray the prayer found in Psalm 119:126: “It is time for You to act, O Lord, for they have made void Your law” (literal translation).

When the peoples of this world make void the law of God, God will intervene. These are the words of comfort that the Lord will give to His children who are faithful in keeping His law during this time of persecution that’s coming. “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name” (Revelation 3:10–12).

There are limits to the forbearance of God and there is no such thing as breaking the law of God without penalty, even during this lifetime.

Bible writers have this to say about the character of the law of God and our relation to it:

  • “The law of God is perfect” (Psalm 19:7, literal translation).
  • “The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide” (Psalm 37:31).
  • “Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, you people in whose heart is My law: do not fear the reproach of men” (Isaiah 51:7).
  • “I delight to do Your will, O My God, and Your law is within My heart” (Psalm 40:8).
  • The righteous man says, “His delight is in the law of the Lord” (Psalm 1:2).
  • The whole of Psalm 119 is about the law of God.
  • “The commandment is a lamp, and the law a light” (Proverbs 6:23).

“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. Many people shall come and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem” (Isaiah 2:2, 3).

The third angel’s message, to be given to the world in the last days, will be given by people who keep the commandments. The judgment hour message cannot be preached without a distinct presentation concerning the law of God. If you compare Revelation 14 with Revelation 17, you will find out that the second angel’s message is a condemnation of those who break the law.

Paul said, “The carnal [unconverted] mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be” (Romans 8:7).

We as Adventist Christians have been given the responsibility to give the warning to the world that we are in the midst of the judgment right now. The standard of judgment is the law of God. Like Noah’s unpopular message of a pending flood, our message is not popular and mostly not welcome. Soon it will be too late to do what we can do right now. May the Lord help us to be faithful witnesses in getting the message out to the world.

 

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Editorial – The Work of the Holy Spirit

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“The work of the Holy Spirit is immeasurably great. It is from this source that power and efficiency come to the worker for God; and the Holy Spirit is the comforter, as the personal presence of Christ to the soul. He who looks to Christ in simple, childlike faith, is made a partaker of the divine nature through the agency of the Holy Spirit. When led by the Spirit of God, the Christian may know that he is made complete in Him who is the head of all things. As Christ was glorified on the day of Pentecost, so will He again be glorified in the closing work of the gospel, when He shall prepare a people to stand the final test, in the closing conflict of the great controversy. …

“The people of God are to be called out from their association with worldlings and evil-doers, to stand in the battle for the Lord against the powers of darkness. When the earth is lightened with the glory of God, we shall see a work similar to that which was wrought when the disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaimed the power of a risen Saviour. …

“They [those deceived by the enemies of Christ] said one to another, ‘This is the very One who was accused of gluttony, of eating with publicans and sinners; the One who was bound, and scourged, and crucified. We believe in Him as the Son of God, the Prince and Saviour.’ The revelation of Christ by the Holy Spirit brought to them a realizing sense of His power and majesty, and they stretched forth their hands unto Him by faith, saying, ‘I believe.’ Thus it was in the time of the early rain; but the latter rain will be more abundant. …

“O that we as a people might humble our hearts before God, and plead with Him for the endowment of the Holy Spirit! If we came to the Lord in humility and contrition of soul, He would answer our petitions; for He says that He is more willing to give us the Holy Spirit than are parents to give good gifts to their children. Then would Christ be glorified, and in Him we should discern the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” The Review and Herald, November 29, 1892